Lucknow, May 30 -- With wind speed crossing 100 kmph, another major thunderstorm, moderate to heavy rain and lightning struck Uttar Pradesh between Thursday night and Friday early morning, as per data shared by the Lucknow meteorological centre, and claimed several lives. The highest wind speed of 109 kmph was recorded in Hathras, 100 kmph at Agra, 96 kmph in Bulandshahr, 94 kmph in Shahjahanpur and 91 kmph in Jalaun, the meteorological office said. This was the second major hailstorm that hit the state in 15 days. Earlier on May 13, a far stronger hailstorm had lashed Uttar Pradesh when a man was reportedly lifted nearly 50 feet into the air with a tin shed before crashing into a maize field in Bareilly. A fortnight ago, strong winds with velocities ranging from 74 to 130 kmph hit several districts, the met office had said, adding that the highest wind speed of 130 kmph was recorded in Bareilly and Prayagraj districts then. "Thunderstorms or dust storms are not unusual during this season. The storm resulted from western disturbances and its interaction with easterly winds," said Manish R Ranalkar, director at the Lucknow met office, about Thursday night's storm. Several parts of east Uttar Pradesh experienced rain up to 100 mm. For instance, Mirzapur tehsil recorded 100 mm rainfall, Ayodhya 90 mm, Prayagraj 61 mm, Unnao 59 mm, Siddharthnagar 51 mm, Ambedkar Nagar 43 mm, Ghazipur 38 mm, Azamgarh 37.6 mm, Basti 35 mm, Chitrakoot 33 mm, Sant Kabir Nagar 31 mm, Kannauj 30 mm, Varanasi BHU 29.2 mm, Barabanki at Nawabganj Tehsil and Ghazipur 25 mm, Banda 24 mm and Amethi 23.3 mm. In Lucknow, Bani recorded 18 mm rainfall, Malihabad 17 mm, and the airport 3 mm. The storm originated from north-west UP and moved towards the state's eastern region, according to the met office. On Friday, the maximum and minimum temperatures in Lucknow were 33 (7.1 degrees below normal) and 20.9 degrees Celsius respectively. Due to rainfall, the day temperatures in most cities of Uttar Pradesh remained below normal. In two cities, it dropped by over 10 degrees below normal on Friday. The maximum temperature in Ballia dropped to 27.5 degrees Celsius, which is 10.1 degrees below normal and at Ghazipur it was 29 degrees Celsius, which is 10.2 degrees below normal. The forecast for Lucknow is a partly cloudy sky with few spells of rain/thundershowers accompanied by gusty winds on Saturday. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 33 and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively. IMD has also issued a warning of thunderstorm/lightning accompanied by gusty winds. A hailstorm is very likely at isolated places over the area at night. There is a likelihood that the spell of widespread rainfall-accompanied by squalls and storms-will persist in the region until May 31, resulting from the interaction between moist easterly winds in the lower troposphere and a Western Disturbance. The maximum temperatures are expected to drop further by 5 to 7degC. The state forecast is rain/thundershowers are very likely at many places over the area. IMD issued a warning that thunderstorm/lightning accompanied by gusty winds (speed 50-60 to 70 kmph) is very likely at isolated places over West UP and East UP. Heavy rain is also very likely at isolated places over West UP. According to the X handle of Rahat UP, "IMD has expressed a strong likelihood of severe thunderstorms, rain, and hailstorms in Uttar Pradesh till May 30, 2026. The general public is urged to stay in safe places during inclement weather, refrain from venturing out unnecessarily, and adhere to the guidelines issued by the administration." The weatherman said, "Consequently, there is a strong possibility that the heatwave (Loo) conditions will completely cease across the state."...